In a household or commercial refrigerator, it is desirable to provide easy access to the interior shelves in both the refrigeration and freezing compartments. The ability of refrigerator shelves to slide horizontally into and out of the interior of the refrigerator enables the consumer to more conveniently reach items at the back at the shelf as well as to prevent any breakage or spillage of items on the shelves. Easier access saves time and effort in reaching the various items stored in the refrigerator and also saves energy because of the shorter time needed to keep the refrigerator open to retrieve various items. In addition, the ability for shelves to slide out of the refrigerator allows for easy cleaning of the refrigerator and the shelves.
An example of an attempt to facilitate access to items stored in a refrigerator can be seen in U.S. Pat. No. 3,984,163 to Boorman, Jr., et al. The Boorman patent discloses a shelf assembly having a cantilever support frame and a sliding shelf which may be removed from the frame. The frame includes a pair of shelf guides or tracks.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,613 to Tromble et al. discloses a household refrigerator pan assembly for supporting a pair of "crisper"-type drawers for sliding movement. These patents do not however provide for easy access to the shelves of the refrigerator by allowing the shelves and crisper bins to slide out from the interior of the refrigerator.